The Forbidden Story
by TheTreviOwl
Summary: They had both waited so long for this moment, but were they both waiting for the same thing? Things do indeed not always go as intended. Rated M for situations and subject matter.
1. Chapter 1

**The Forbidden Story**

**Chapter 1.**

******-x-x-x-**

Sarah felt queasy, no not queasy, maybe sick was a better word... in fact she couldn't quite place it. Something was off about her stomach and it was distracting her heavily from what she was doing at the moment, lying pinned underneath Jareth, the Goblin King, in his bedchambers, in the castle beyond the goblin city, in the Underground... oh yes!

He was kissing her madly and her head was spinning... she had to concentrate though.

What had she eaten today that could be causing this? Breakfast and lunch had both been innocent ... and she wasn't given the chance to have dinner... so it couldn't be food poisoning... could it?

Jareth had now slipped his hands beneath her shirt and lifted it over her breasts, slowly kissing one while his hand caressed the other... and ohh how good it felt to have him doing these things to her, her arousal was surging and she could feel her thighs getting wet. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath trying to ignore the pain... she was not going to let it spoil her first night with him.

He kept caressing her breasts as he came to meet her lips with his. His kiss was intoxicating, and her head spun even faster as he claimed her mouth viciously with utter greed... she was going to enjoy this night immensely.

One of his hands now trailed down over her stomach and she felt a sting where his fingers brushed over her skin and she gasped from the pain... this was getting annoying, she really didn't want to stop what they were doing.

'What the hell is going on' she thought to herself, while Jareth, misinterpreting her growl of frustration as one of pleasure, kissed her deeper.

Then it hit her like a chair against a wall made of crystal. Her eyes flew open and in one swift movement she spun Jareth on his back and leaped over him, out of the bed and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

With her back against the door panting heavily her thoughts finally caught up with her head.

'OH God! Why now! Of all nights...' and why hadn't she remembered! Today was the first day of her period.

**-x-x-x-**

Jareth sat dumbfounded on the bed. Of all the things he had imagined happening tonight this scenario was not one of them. What had happened, things were going so well, she had given in to his seduction like a lamb led to slaughter.

It had been quite thrilling for him to hear her beg him to take her to the Underground and into his bed. And now he sat there alone... on the bed... not what he had in mind. It was putting his plan in great danger.

This had to be rectified.

He stood up and went to open the bathroom door but stopped with his outstretched hand, thinking he should probably knock first... right?

He knocked on the door but there was no answer.

"Sarah, are you all right?"

**-x-x-x-**

Sarah flinched at his voice, his tone sounding surprised still.

"I'm fine Jareth, just give me a minute."

How in the world was she going to tell Him about this... 'Sorry Goblin King I know you had a master plan of seduction in the works just now but I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood.' Or 'I have a headache?'

That would never fly and she knew it... she couldn't tell him she was sick either could she... all of a sudden? She shuddered at the thought of having to describe the effects of human food poisoning to him.

That left only one thing... the truth. Did he even know about these things? Did it happen to the women of his kind? Somehow the thought of a female version of Jareth PMS-ing, flashed through her mind and she couldn't help but giggle... and sigh, not bloody likely then.

She cringed at her unintentional pun.

**-x-x-x-**

Ten minutes had passed since Sarah had asked for one.

Jareth was growing impatient. He had waited a long time to have Sarah in his bed and now when the moment was upon him it couldn't be delayed any longer. He'd been pacing in front of the door but stopped to knock again.

"Sarah, what are you doing in there?" His voice now unmistakably more annoyed than concerned.

He heard Sarah rummaging around in the bathroom... searching for something.

"Is there something I can find for you? What would you possibly need so urgently that it couldn't wait until after I worshiped your body?"

**-x-x-x-**

Sarah's stomach now filled with butterflies, she really wanted to just crawl back into that bed and resume just that... She cursed this godforsaken condition bestowed upon womankind!

But she couldn't hide in the bathroom for a few days either... she had to tell him.

She walked to the door, unlocked it and opened it slowly, not looking up at him where he was standing right in front of her...

"Jareth..." she said cautiously... "I'm sorry. There will be no worshiping tonight."

"What? Why not? What on earth is going on? And what were you searching for in there?"

Ignoring all those questions she decided to just be matter of fact.

"Jareth, do you know how the body of a human woman works?"

The look on his face was puzzled, sure he knew a thing or two about women... and what to do TO their bodies... so she could see he wasn't quite sure what she meant.

"The menstruation cycle..." Sarah continued, and she could see his face turn from puzzled to horrified... so he did know... something at least.

"Well, mine just started, which mean I've been eliminated from the game for a few days."

He looked at her for a few moments like she had just told him, that instead of crystals he now had to do his magic with rotten eggs.

"Jareth... how much do you actually know about this?" She asked him now looking puzzled herself after he had not uttered a word for over a minute.

"Enough..." he replied dryly... "are you in pain?"

"A little." She was glad he at least had the sense to ask.

The look on his face was quite unreadable. He finally spoke again after a long bout of just looking at her strangely.

"Wait here" he said heading for the door and leaving the room.

Sarah didn't quite know what to think, was he disgusted by her, had he lost interest in her now? Would he ever want to touch her again?

Some "one night stand" this was turning out to be... it was supposed to be so simple and all of a sudden all these questions mattered to her.

Well, worst case scenario he'd send her back Aboveground and she'd have gotten a few good kisses out of it...

Her train of thought was interrupted by Jareth entering the room again accompanied by a female goblin.

"Sarah, please let Spinny here accompany you to the guest chamber..." he said without even looking at her... "Good night Sarah."

Spinny tugged on Sarah's arm and motioned her to come, she slowly gave in to the tug and let the small goblin drag her out of Jareth's chambers, not letting her eyes leave him for a second, but he didn't look at her as she left.

"This way lady." Spinny muttered and still tugged Sarah forward. Sarah, being dumbfounded by the whole situation just followed.

They reached the end of the corridor and Spinny opened a door at the far end.

"His majesty requests you sleep here lady, and ask for whatever you may need. Good night." and with that, Spinny was gone.

Sarah stepped in the room and closed the door. The room was beautiful, just like everything else in Jareth's kingdom... except maybe for the unfortunate goblins... or the bog. She slumped on the bed and went over the events of the night in her head... not two hours ago she'd been in her apartment aboveground and now she had weirded out Jareth and probably missed out on the greatest sex of her life in the same instant...

'Smooth Sarah... real smooth.'

**-x-x-x-**

**A/N:** _Alright, wonder what will happen next, and what the hell is Jareth's problem! :)_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Forbidden Story **

**Chapter 2.  
**

**-x-x-x-**

Sarah felt herself waking up slowly.

Her sleep had been unusually heavy. She stirred a bit under the covers but didn't open her eyes, she didn't want to leave the warm, fuzzy feeling behind. The sheets were soft and she felt like she could just melt right into them.

Her mind was in a serious haze this morning.

It almost felt like she was still in a dream but something was interrupting it, pain was filtering through to her consciousness. Sunlight was making its way through the curtains and hitting her eyes in an uncomfortable manner. Opening them slowly she realized she was drooling on her pillow. The brightness in the room blinded her temporarily making it hard for her to make out the room, slowly her eyes adjusted and as the room became clear she sat up with a start and the night before came rushing back to her.

Everything from the hot seductions of the Goblin King to her embarrassing moment of truth was burning fresh in her memory, making her half wish she hadn't woken up at all.

She sighed and clasped her forehead, the painkillers had really knocked her out good.

Spinny had really meant it when she'd told her to ask for anything she wanted, she'd provided her with everything she needed from her apartment to get her through this no matter how long she'd be staying… and that was the first question Sarah wanted an answer to. Why was she still there? Why hadn't he just sent her home?

Her stomach growling interrupted her thoughts however as she realized she hadn't eaten anything since before this little adventure began. She didn't feel right with causing trouble so early, even though Spinny had told her to ask for whatever, whenever, so she decided the best thing to do was to go search for some food herself. There had to be something edible in a castle of this size.

She found a dressing gown in the closet and put it on. Slowly she opened the door to her room and stepped into the hallway. It looked very different in the morning light. The warm glow lit up beautiful artworks and tapestries she'd never even noticed before and somehow she felt she had to step very lightly as if not to disturb the peaceful atmosphere. Outside the window she could hear birds chirping and she wondered if every morning felt this beautiful in the Labyrinth.

Carefully she made her way down the hall until she reached the doors to Jareth's bedchambers. She tried to will herself to pass but couldn't. Her time in there had been cut painfully short. She couldn't help wondering what he was doing, was he still sleeping? Did he even sleep? He had a bed so he had to sleep... right? She blushed a bit as multiple uses for the common bed came to her mind and her curiosity grew... she had to find out.

With her heart thundering in her chest she reached for the handle and turned it, her excitement doubled when she found it was unlocked. She pushed it slightly and with a low creak it opened. She peeked inside carefully, hoping with baited breath he hadn't heard the door opening.

The room was dark, the morning light being kept out by the heavy curtains covering most of the windows. One of them was open a crack however letting in a small gleam of light and after her eyes had adjusted for a moment her heart skipped a beat as she saw him lying on his side in the bed, clearly fast asleep. She almost squeed at the sight, seeing that strong powerful man in such a state of vulnerability thrilled her, he did sleep! She felt a huge grin form on her face. Triumphantly she slowly backed out into the hallway and closed the door. She breathed a sigh of relief and rested her back against the door for a moment.

That man… he really had a weird effect on her. He'd gotten her to agree on a one night stand with him and now she was pushing her luck entering his bedchambers uninvited.

Finally her giddy mind reminded her of why she was out of bed so early in the first place and she made her way down the hall, continuing her search for food.

When she reached the kitchen she found Spinny already in there busy making breakfast. The sight of her reminded her of a cartoon, she was making toast, cutting up fruit and making tea all the while ordering around other goblins on many different tasks in the meantime. The platter she was preparing looked delicious, with melons, toast, pastry and some things she'd never seen before delicately arranged on beautiful silverware… and she could only assume it was all for Jareth. Her mouth watered at the sight and her stomach growled louder.

Before she had a chance to open her mouth Spinny had turned around and spotted her.

"Oh, my Lady what are you doing here! I must not have heard your call, what can I do for you?"

"Oh no, no, Spinny, I was just hungry and didn't want to wake anyone."

"No No! You're his majesties guest! You shouldn't get your own food! Come with me!"

Spinny grabbed Sarah's arm before she had the time to protest and mention all she really needed was perhaps a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice but this time Spinny lead her through the kitchen and into a large dining room with a huge table in the middle.

"Please sit here, and I'll bring you some food as soon as I've sent his majesties breakfast to his room."

Spinny left the room with a loud clunk of the door, leaving Sarah in the huge dining room by herself.

_It must be nice to have someone take care of you like that._ She thought to herself as she tried to remember a time she'd ever gotten breakfast in bed. She still wasn't able to justify waking someone else up just because she was hungry though.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders and looked around room, again taken aback by the beauty of the place. The room was lavishly decorated in green and gold, almost too beautiful for a simple meal like breakfast. She could only imagine the fine dinner parties that must have been held there. While examining the walls a painting on the far wall captured her eye.

It was a beautiful scene of a forest clearing and in it an image of a man with wild blond hair, sitting up against a tree. Sarah felt herself drawn in until she was standing right against the painting. Examining it further she noticed the head of the man was angle towards the side of the tree hidden from view and by squinting she could almost make out a woman sitting there.

_How odd. _She thought to herself._ Wouldn't it have been better to paint the woman so she could be seen?_

Behind her she heard the door clunk again. Spinny had returned, she thought. She didn't take her eyes of the painting right away however still examining the woman sitting behind the tree. She turned around to ask Spinny about the painting but right before opening her mouth she was stopped dead in her tracks, surprised. It wasn't Spinny who'd enter the dining hall… it was Jareth.

"Good morning, Sarah." Jareth smiled at her and made his way towards the table and sat down at one end of it. "Joining me for breakfast?"

She stood there for a moment, not sure what to do, but then made her way to the table and sat down on Jareth's right hand side.

As soon as she settled the doors flew open and a group of goblins brought the kings breakfast tray in and placed it ceremoniously before him on the table. Shortly after another group of goblins followed with another tray and set it on the table before Sarah. Now each bowing and curtsying, stumbling across each other the goblins made their way out the door and left the two off them alone again.

Jareth made with eating his breakfast but Sarah, staring down at the food before her, occasionally slipping Jareth a look from the corner of her eye, suddenly wasn't very hungry anymore.

His reaction to seeing her again after last night wasn't at all what she'd expected.

Honestly, she wasn't quite sure what she'd expected because she hadn't really thought it through, but she was sure there should be at least an awkward silence or two in situations like these… and he didn't seem bothered at all… He'd even smiled at her when he'd entered… he was even smiling at her now.

She looked away blushing when she realized she'd been staring at him.

"You don't like melons?" Jareth asked, motioning towards her plate, still grinning.

"Oh… yeah, I like them fine." She blushed again and reached for her fork, setting to eating her food.

_Should she mention what happened…_ _She needed to at least know why she was still there…_

She took a bite of her toast and suddenly realized how hungry she was. The food tasted every bit as good as it looked, in fact she hadn't had food this good in a while… and there was no sense in spoiling a good meal so she decided she'd put off the matter until at least after breakfast. Besides he wasn't going to send her away in a cloud of glitter without so much as a goodbye first was he?

Once they'd finished eating Jareth stood up and headed for the door. Sarah felt the urgency to jump up and say something but found herself glued to her chair. Why was she so intimidated by him? She had to say something…. Anything!

She felt the words building up inside her and knew she was just about to say something she'd probably regret… but right before he reached the door Jareth turned around and looked at her questioningly.

"Well? Are you coming?"

**-x-x-x-**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Forbidden Story**

**Chapter 3.**

**-x-x-x-**

"I'm going for a walk in the gardens. Will you join me?"

Sarah felt her breakfast turn into a big lump in her stomach. A walk… he was going to let her down easy.

Slowly she rose out of her seat at the table and nodded, following him out the door and into the hallway.

His walk was brisk and she was careful to keep at least two steps back, staying behind him as they walked through the castles halls.

After a while they reached a room that she figured must be in the back of the castle. She'd never seen most of it and had tried hard to keep up with her bearings through the twisting halls. The room had a huge glass window making up one side of it with clear view of the castles gardens. As Jareth walked towards them the windows disappeared and the gardens lay stretched before them.

Astonished, Sarah stepped forwards to take in the sight of them, large and mysterious, made of forests and paths, ponds and hills that all seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Sarah closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. The air was thick with the scent of wood and earth, it was like right out of a fairy tale.

As a strong breeze wafted by her she suddenly realized she was still only wearing her dressing gown. Quickly she crossed her arms over her chest and noticed Jareth was standing right behind her and probably had for quite some time.

"It's beautiful" She heard herself say, trying to break her sudden air of discomfort.

"I know" He said calmly, looking out over his kingdom. She heard him inhale deeply and exhale slowly as he took in the scent of his land.

"Walk with me Sarah." He finally drew back from her and headed towards steps that lead down into the gardens.

Reminded again of why she was out there she willed herself to follow him… getting this over with would probably be best for both of them.

He'd turned around at the top of the steps and waited for her to reach his side, as she did he smiled at her and turned to walk down into the gardens… with her following anxiously.

The route was a beautifully scenic walk, passing ponds and flowerbeds along the way.

He didn't say a word, only walked in a steady pace along the long trails leading them far from the castle.

She was unconsciously chewing on her bottom lip as she pondered what he could possibly be thinking, shooting him an inquisitive look every now and then.

Still he said nothing and soon he halted his walk by a small lake and sat down on and old tree stump, obviously there for the purpose.

'_Alright, this is it'_ She thought to herself nervously.

She stood there awhile staring at him until he motioned her to come and sit by him. Slowly she drew closer and selected a spot, not to close, to his left.

The view over the lake was glorious and the wind was soft and warm, caressing her skin. Momentarily the feeling of comfort and relaxation wafted over her and she thought back to her live aboveground and how hectic it all was… this was so much better.

But she wasn't able to enjoy the beauty and tranquility for longer than a fleeting moment as she was too distracted by Jareth's demeanor. That infuriating man still hadn't said a word about last night and he'd been nothing but nice to her all morning… and quite frankly it was freaking her out.

Why wasn't he saying something right now, this was his chance, the reason they were there, she would almost be willing to commend him on the nice and easy let down if he'd only get on with it already!

"Jareth?" She started, her voice sounding just as unsure as she felt.

"Yeah?" He turned towards her and looked at her questioningly.

She looked him in the eye for a good while, his gaze almost hypnotic, she hadn't really noticed how beautiful his eyes were until now, deep and mysterious.

She inhaled sharply and looked away realizing she'd been staring again.

"What is it Sarah?"

"Nothing…" She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Why are we out here Jareth?"

She gathered her courage to meet his eyes with hers again, trying not to look shy under her obvious nervousness.

He looked away and she noted a hint of a smile on his mouth.

"I wanted us to have a relaxing morning together Sarah. My day is looking pretty hectic… and you've never seen most of my castle before." He paused momentarily. "How do you like the gardens?"

"Right… they're beautiful."

And no matter how frustrated as she was she really meant it. Sure she'd been obsessing over what he was thinking but looking out over the lake the fact was she'd never seen anything more beautiful in her life and would consider herself lucky to be able to call a place like this home.

"What's it like living here?" the question leaving her lips before she even realized it.

"I like it… but it can get lonely... It would be nice to have someone to share it with." He then turned to face her again, a meaningful look in his eye.

Taken completely aback she stared back at him in disbelief. Did he really just say what she heard him say? Was this the same Jareth she'd met when she was fifteen?

Motionless they just looked at each other for a while and she watched his eyes travel over her face, pausing at her lips and then meeting her eyes again. All she could think of was his mouth on hers the night before.

Slowly she felt herself leaning in towards him, her heart thundering in her chest and her eyes closing…

"But I still haven't found anyone who wanted to share it with me." Swiftly moving away he turned his gaze back out on the water.

Her balance thrown suddenly she was barely able to catch her weight on her arms before slumping face first into his side. Catching her breath that had left her for a moment she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Jareth, why am I still here? Why haven't you sent me home" her agitation now evident in her voice but she didn't care… this nonsense had to end.

"Do you want to go home?" he asked her questioningly as he turned to face her again.

"I… I don't know. Not until we talk about this at least." Flummoxed by the question she realized she honestly wasn't sure… but that wasn't the point…

But before she could argue again he smiled at her and stood up, reaching out his hand towards her to help her up.

"Come on, let's get you some clothes. We'll talk about this later. I do actually have something that I need to discuss with you."

Even as infuriated as she was at his avoiding the subject, with him standing there smiling at her she found herself reaching for his hand.

Inside the castle again they split up at the bottom of the stairs as she made her way to her guest chamber to put on some clothes.

The closet in her room was full of them and they were all in her size. If she would have been anywhere else than the Underground she would have given it a second though but here magic closets were probably as normal as it gets. She pulled out a dress she felt suited the weather and put it on. On her body it looked gorgeous and she made a mental note to compliment Jareth on his taste in clothing… women's clothing that is.

Now dressed, she wondered what she should do next. Jareth had said he had a hectic day ahead of him but also that they should talk…and again she found herself wondering what he was thinking.

Maybe he was afraid to talk to her… and maybe he was as nervous as she was… honestly she felt like an unsure seventeen year old again trying to decipher the behaviours of teenage boys.

She sighed and decided to at least leave her room and take a better look around, if she ran into him she could ask him straight out.

Leaving her room she made her way back down the hall past Jareth's chamber.

At the top of the staircase she was met with sounds of laughter… women's laughter. As she descended she found 3 beautiful women, lavishly dressed, standing there chatting and laughing away.

As they noticed Sarah they turned towards her smiling.

"Look girls, another one's here! How many do you think there are?"

"No idea!" Another exclaimed. "But knowing Jareth he will have requested a wide selection."

They all laughed merrily and motioned Sarah towards them.

"So tell us, what did you have to do to be allowed in?"

"Allowed in where?" Sarah couldn't deny that she was now thoroughly confused.

"Well… the matching of course, Jareth will finally choose a mate today!"

Suddenly the doors of the throne room swung open and a tall, distinguished looking man appeared through them.

"In here ladies, we're just about to start."

**-x-x-x-**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Forbidden Story**

**Chapter 4.**

**-x-x-x-**

Jareth slammed the door behind him so hard the candlesticks on the mantle clattered. His mind was racing, in only 5 minutes the clock would strike noon and the matching would begin. He gritted his teeth and paced the floor of his study in a frenzy. On any other day hiding out here would not be something a King of his stature would have to do and there was truly only one time he really hated being a King in this realm. Usually it was one hedonistic pleasure after another but when the darned matchings' rolled around it was a real pain and knowing his father and the rest of the other Kingdoms' diplomats were looking for him at this very moment he cringed. He was running out of excuses.

Ending his pacing he realized he was mirroring Sarah's behaviour from the night before where she'd locked herself in the bathroom. He found himself highly doubting however that he could mirror her bravery in facing the matter head on.

"Oh god, Sarah…"

He really felt like the biggest oaf in the Underground, telling her he was lonely and wanted to settle down… the only way he'd thought of to feel out if she wanted to go home after the dreadful night before.

Oh god, the night before. He grabbed his head, burying his face in his hands.  
Everything was in complete shambles… last time things had been this bad was when Sarah destroyed his Labyrinth that fateful night all those years ago. And now he was kicking himself for even thinking about her. He should have just forgotten all about her after the humiliation he'd suffered but she'd been the only one who came to his mind when he'd quickly assembled his latest plan of escape from the matching laws.

Sure he'd gone to her with a half hashed plan but it would have been the easy way out of his troubles. But then he had to spoil everything by giving into his feelings for the girl making everything so much more complicated and right now it was the rules that were making his life miserable, especially the gag order, he wasn't allowed to and couldn't even if he wanted to talk about his own matching until the ceremony was set. He wasn't allowed to influence the women and they weren't allowed to influence him… a rule he had broken many times in the past. Blasted consequences!

And then it dawned on him… Sarah would most likely come looking for him again after she was ready and even though he couldn't tell her what was going on one of the women could and most certainly would if given the chance.

He had to find her and stop her, to ask her to stay in her room until he was allowed to talk about this. He rushed out of his study, most importantly he had to have a word with Sarah before the diplomats could find him.

**-x-x-x-**

Sarah stood frozen in her footsteps as the other women disappeared with the man into the throne room. Instinctively she felt herself draw backwards in horror but before she could turn around and make a run for it she spotted Jareth at the top of the stairs descending in a hurry.

As he made her way towards her she turned away preparing to run down the hallway on the other side of the staircase. The last thing she wanted was for Jareth to see the tears that were now springing to her eyes. What on earth was going on?

In a flash she felt him grab a hold of her and pull her with him into the hallway and behind the staircase. She tried to push him away but it was of no use.

"Sarah!" His voice was a desperate whisper.

"Send me home Jareth, I'm sick and tired of your games. Clearly I was just a quick bout of fun before you got married." She rapidly blinked the tears from her eyes as she again tried and failed at freeing herself from his grasp. Why was she so upset? Her original idea had been a one night stand hadn't it? She had no right to feel this way and couldn't understand the frustration she felt, only made worse by the fact that he was holding her close now. She felt a tear roll down her cheek and she quickly dried it away with the back of her hand.

"No, no, stop it, Sarah, be quiet. They mustn't hear us. I'm not allowed to talk to anyone."

She barely registered her own surprise at the desperation of his voice as she once again tested his grip on her.

"Tell me what the hell is going on Jareth." She shouted at him ignoring his request for her to be quiet. Which only made him grab her tighter and lock his eyes on hers, sending her a look of warning.

"I haven't been able to tell you, I'm not allowed to. Come with me in there and just pretend you're one of them. We'll have a chance to talk later… oh, and they cannot know that you're human… here put this in your pocket." He produced a crystal and quickly handed it to her. "This will protect you."

He let her go and made to leave down the hallway but she grabbed a hold of his sleeve. This was ridiculous.

"Protect me from what!" She spat at him, again visibly concerning him with her voice levels.

"Be quiet Sarah," he spat back, "I have to go now, do as you're told and go into the throne room. I'll explain everything later."

He disappeared swiftly as he heard voices searching the hall for more guests nearing their hiding place and she was left standing alone in the hallway.

In an instant the man who'd opened the doors to the throne room appeared around the corner and fixed her a stern look.

"Miss, will you please follow me."

She couldn't find any words, just kept her hand firmly around the crystal in her pocket. Jareth had seemed completely different from the man she'd spoken to just this morning.

She tried to come up with a good excuse to run but her mind drew a blank until the man spoke again.

"Miss, I must insist, no one is allowed out here during the ceremony."

She moved forwards and before fully realizing it she was in the throne room.

She got the evil eye from a room full of women when she entered but a moment later she saw Jareth come in through another door on the other side, accompanied by two distinguished looking men.

She watched as he made his way up to his throne and was met by another, even more distinguished looking, older man who leant over and whispered something into his ear. Turning away, the look on Jareth's face was not a happy one.

The older man now made his way to the centre of the room while Jareth took a seat on his throne looking dejected. Once he'd watch Jareth settle the man turned around and addressed the room.

"Ladies, may I have your attention please. I know that this is a day that many of you have been waiting for, for a long while and the moment has finally come, Jareth's time has run out and since he has not met the standards set by the matching laws it is time for his final matching, whoever is chosen as the winner this time around will definitely become his wife and Queen of the Goblins. Since the Goblin Kingdom is one of the most powerful in our world I am certain that you are all aware of what an honour it will be for whoever is victorious."

Jareth, sitting hunched into his throne with one hand under his cheek, was clearly not enjoying the prospects of what was going on at the moment. If Sarah hadn't known better she'd think he was a misbehaving child who was finally getting his comeuppance.

The older man started pacing in front of the crowd of women and continued his speech.

"Many of you have been here before, and I welcome you back even though you've been hurt by the boy before, and I apologise on my son's behalf…" Sarah gasped, the older man was Jareth's father. "… but for those of you that are new, I have only one advice for you… guard your integrity."

The man looked over his shoulder at Jareth who rolled his eyes indignantly and huffed into his chest, his riding crop now bouncing off his boots. Sarah felt the chill beaming from the eyes of some of the women in the room after the statement and wondered just how many of them Jareth had taken advantage off.

"You will all be filled in on the program after my speech ends and most of you have already been assigned guestrooms yesterday, todays arrivals will be taken care of shortly. You will have the afternoon to get ready and must all join us for dinner in the great hall at 7 tonight."

Sarah felt her face turn white when she realized that even as she had been in bed with Jareth the night before the castle had been full of women all here for the purpose of getting into that very position.

"Even though we do not start the matching until this evening the rules are in effect immediately, you will all find a list of them in your rooms but the most important ones are as follows. You are not allowed to speak to Jareth unless you are instructed to do so during the matching or he speaks to you first, same goes for approaching him or following him around, you should all have an equal opportunity and we cannot have anyone manipulate their way forward. The other rule you all must follow is that you are not allowed to harm each other unless instructed to. If these or any of the other rules are broken, you will be dismissed from the matching so I suggest you familiarize yourself with them well."

Sarah's head was spinning, the scene that was unfolding before her was becoming more and more surreal by the second. Now there were rules?

"Now, before we go on to explain the challenges I would just like to say good luck to you all and finally remind you that one of you WILL become the luckiest woman in the Underground when this matching is over and the next chapter in our history can FINALLY begin."

The women broke out into cheers and applauded feverously, Sarah joined in but hadn't missed the emphasis the elder had put on the word finally.

She wondered just how much was riding on Jareth choosing a mate.

"Over the week that you will be a part of this matching, hierarchy is irrelevant, no matter which kingdom you come from, here you are all equals. The challenges you will face will sometimes be competitive and sometimes only your personality will save you and your bitchiness condemn you, don't let jealously be your downfall. The winner will be the one who at the end has been found the most likely to bear the strongest heirs and rule with conviction and power alongside the King."

"And with those words the final Matching has officially been set. Now if you would excuse me ladies. It's my time to start observing. You're free to do what you please until tonight's dinner as long as it adheres to the rules, see you all tonight."

The women started fanning out of the room and Sarah was caught in the stream. She managed to throw a look towards Jareth where he was being spoken to by his father as she briefly met his eyes as they shot her way before being completely pulled from the room by the heard of girls all rushing to their rooms to prepare for the evening's dinner.

She waited in the hallway until the women had all cleared out and again hid behind the staircase she knew lead to both her and Jareth's rooms. After a short while the door to the throne room opened and Jareth stepped outside still looking rather despondent.

She didn't care though, she had questions and she needed them answered. Before the door had fully closed behind him she moved from her hiding place and headed straight for him.

"What the hell is going on here Jareth?"

His face contorted in horror as he saw her and quickly glanced inside the door, before she could follow his example he'd grabbed her and pulled her back behind the staircase, covering her mouth to keep her silent. She brought a hand up to pull at his but he tightened his grip on her and pushed her further into the wall as he gave her a look of warning.

As the door to the throne room could be heard opening again his eyes glanced to the side to keep an eye on movement, if anyone walked far enough into the hall they would clearly be seen. After a short while the doors closed again and after he was sure that nobody had stepped into the great hall he removed his hand from her mouth but signalled her to stay quiet with one finger.

She nodded that she understood and swallowed a lump in her throat. He'd taken her completely by surprise and now as she was standing there rattled with him pressed up against her she was quickly having a hard time not feeling the effects he had on her.

He leaned into her until his lips gently brushed against her ear. She took in a deep breath at the feeling and tried her best to keep still. Then he whispered to her so silently she could barely hear him.

"Don't do anything stupid Sarah. The matching has been set. You heard the rules. In 30 minutes, enter my room and hide in the bathroom. I will meet you there. No one can see you. Be as quiet as you can."

She didn't get a chance to convey she understood for he had already left their hiding place and walked briskly down one of the other corridors leading from the great hall. Sarah couldn't help herself from sighing in frustration. She really wasn't in the mood to be bossed around at the moment, but she needed to talk to him, she'd had questions before but now her head was spinning. She made her way up the stairs and towards Jareth's room cautious of the fact that she didn't have a watch on her.

**-x-x-x-**

**A/N:** A big t_hank you goes out to everyone who has read and reviewed this story since I first published it. After a long break I was finally able to start writing it again and have the next chapter nearly finished. I hope you enjoy it and if you care to leave a review I'd very much appreciate it. Thank you._


	5. Chapter 5

**The Forbidden Story**

**Chapter 5.**

**-x-x-x-**

Sarah was sitting on the edge of the biggest bathtub she'd ever seen in her life. She'd made her way unseen into Jareth's room as he'd asked her and now she had been waiting for him for what felt like a whole hour. She killed the time by examining the bathroom, the last time she'd been in there she hadn't noticed how beautiful and luxurious it was, if she hadn't been expecting Jareth at any moment she would gladly have taken a bath and just try to forget the whole thing.

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out the crystal Jareth had given her to… she wasn't exactly sure what it did but obviously it hid the fact that she was human from the others. Admiring it she wondered why exactly he was doing this, had this been his plan all along, to bring her here for the matching? It didn't seem likely but the other option was that she was now just an inconvenience who had to be hidden and then disposed of as soon as possible. She sighed, she wasn't sure which though bothered her more.

There was a soft nock on the door and she tensed up, for a moment she wondered what the punishment for being caught uninvited in the king's bathroom was. But the door quietly opened and Jareth stepped inside, closing it behind him.

It was his turn now to rest his back against the door clasping his forehead. A moment later he let himself slowly slide down to the floor where he then sat with his leg stretched out in front of him and exhaled deeply.

"What a day."

"You're telling me." She was stunned by his entrance, never had she seen him so un-regal, sitting there on the floor he looked absolutely exhausted and nothing like the strong, stern, menacing goblin king she knew him to be. She momentarily forgot her annoyance. "Are you all right… you don't look… yourself?"

"I'll be alright. But no, right now, I do not feel like myself."

She lowered herself down to the ground and moved to sit a bit closer by him.

"Well, I'm going to have to know what's going on Jareth. You have to tell me."

He sighed deeply.

"The situation you've found yourself in is really quite special Sarah." The exhaustion was now lifting from his face as he stared at her as if thinking something over long and hard. "And I'm honestly not entirely sure myself how it happened."

"What do you mean, you seduced me, I said yes and the next thing I know you brush me off and now I'm competing against other women to see who can bare you the strongest heir."

He let out a short burst of laughter.

"Yeah, I guess that sums it up pretty well." His eyes were fixed in a stare on the wall in front of him, the comic nature of the situation obviously lifting his mood but only slightly.

"Alright…" He sighed deeply and crossed his legs in front of him, as if preparing himself to tell a long story. "Here's the thing, as you may probably have heard down in the throne room I am at a point in my ruling where I am required to choose a wife… and as you may also have heard I have been quite reluctant to do so, and still am as a matter of fact."

"Reluctant? From what I heard you've slept with half of these women already and led the rest of them on for years!" She realised she'd just rudely interrupted him but she found it hard to conceal her annoyance which once again flared inside her. And why did she feel like she was telling off a child?

"Yes well, it was all innocent fun. Mostly in rebellion to these damn rules. And I quite frankly find it terribly unfair that I, as the King, am not allowed to do what I damn well please."

"Unfair?" She was unable to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

"The irony is not lost on me Sarah." He shoot her a sidewise look and smirked before turning his gaze to the wall again, continuing his story.

"I've been trying to have the rules changed for years and rebelled against them in every way I can but apparently the diplomats aren't easily swayed, I quite frankly think they enjoy seeing me suffer. So with the walls closing in around me… yes I realise I have only myself to blame… I did the only thing I could think of, I hid."

"At my apartment?"

"Not at first but yes, that's the only place I could think of.

"But why?"

"Well this is where the story gets complicated and I doubt you're going to like it but please hear me out." His faced now turned towards her again she could almost have sworn his sincerity was real… almost.

"The odds aren't exactly in your favour right now Jareth, not after I found out that while we were about to sleep together on your bed the castle was full of women here hoping to do the very same thing so just spit it out, things can hardly get much weirder from now." She'd heard herself say the words but she wasn't as confident as she sounded, in fact she was terrified of what he was about to say. Why did she care so much?

"Alright… after hiding out for a while I came up with what at the time seemed like the best possible way for me to escape this whole fiasco and I needed your help to do it. I didn't however count on the affects you had on me when I showed up… and the affects I clearly had on you." He grinned teasingly and she blushed as she thought back to the day before when he'd showed up at her place, sparks had literally flown.

"So I thought to myself that I'd get you to the Underground and finish asking you for help after we'd… " his eyes locked on hers as he gave her a meaningfully teasing look, "… gotten re-acquainted."

Sarah could still not help herself blushing, she'd been real easy, but then again she hadn't planned on him sticking around or them actually seeing each other again, but that was a matter for another time.

"So what was your plan?" She quizzed him, pushing her embarrassment to one side.

"It actually wasn't a very solid plan and I'm surprised that you're even here but it was my only chance. I was going to bring you here and place you in the matching, I would make sure that you would be the one to win and then you would decline my marriage proposal. The only way for me to escape these damn rules is if the woman chosen says no to me but there was a slim to none chance of that ever happening here. They are all here voluntarily and they are all hoping one of the kings will make them queen, it's not all about how great I think I am." and he smirked at her, seeming to realize how conceited everything he'd just said made him sound before carrying on.

"One of the rules of the matching however is that I am not allowed to speak of it to anyone who isn't a member of the kingdoms' council until it has actually been set, so before 12 noon today I would have faced severe consequences if I had found a way of even mentioning it to you. That resulted in my only hope being to convince you that I needed your help without specifying with what and bring you here. I honestly thought you would send me out the door backwards when you saw me again, so I am indeed very happy that you're here."

He sent her a wary smile and she blinked at him a few times, his words making their way into her head.

"Wow." She finally proclaimed before moving herself next to him and resting her own back against the wall next to the door. It was what she had feared most, or anticipated the most, she wasn't quite sure which, this was all a ploy to fulfil some selfish agenda on his part and she had been pulled along the freight train of its destruction. Whatever she'd hoped to be able to read out of the intensity of the night before quickly died out in her mind and she inwardly laughed at herself for even thinking it. She still had one question though and she was actually kicking herself for caring so much about it since she'd practically thrown herself at him to begin with.

"But why did you turn so cold towards me last night? I felt completely rejected and I couldn't figure out why you didn't just send me home since you didn't want me anymore."

The look he gave her wasn't a mocking one as she'd suspected from a man so full of himself, it was almost understanding. Maybe he did have a shred of decency in him after all.

"Honestly, I couldn't believe my luck when you let me kiss you and when I had you in my bed I felt… let's just say I haven't been so excited in years, I do want you desperately Sarah, but if I was to have any hope of making it to today I had to send you away… and I had to make Spinny believe that you were one of the late arriving matching challengers who was trying to influence me before the fact or she would have ratted me out. Then this morning I had to discreetly find out from you if you actually wanted to stay or not. If you hadn't said you wanted to stay and get answers I'd be resigning to my fate right about now."

"The walk…" She whispered.

"Yes. I apologise for being so aloof with you Sarah but I had no choice." He paused for a second and regarded her carefully, as if cluelessly trying to read her reaction to everything he'd just said before speaking once more. She wasn't surprised that he didn't seem to show any signs of shame, he was a self-important, pompous ass after all. She had hoped he'd have changed in the time they'd spent apart… but she still wanted to know more so she resigned herself to keep her temper in check.

"But how were you able to have breakfast with me and take me for that walk without getting in trouble?"

"I told you I try to break every rule I can, it was morning and everything was being set into motion anyway… the gag order is a spell I can't work against however."

He sighed.

"Look Sarah, in the end, I'm still asking for your help, even after the disastrous start to our time together here." His face was now one of concern as if he was preparing for her to run out on him.

"Will you help me Sarah?"

She paused for a long moments, exhaling deeply. In all the years since she last saw the Labyrinth this wasn't what she'd imagined when she'd let her mind wander and fantasised about returning, Jareth being surrounded by beautiful women who all wanted to bed him and be his wife, him pleading with her to help him so he could continue his egotistical self-indulgent lifestyle and sleep with everything in sight without consequences. The thought was quite depressing.

In the midst of her whirlwind thoughts and idea unexpectedly flew to her mind. Grinning to herself she thought it over for a moment, 'it just might work.'

She turned to face Jareth again whose face was quite a sight in its state between uncertainty and worry, and she gave him a beaming smile.

"Of course I'll help you Jareth."

**-x-x-x-**


	6. Chapter 6

**The Forbidden Story  
**

**Chapter 6.**

**-x-x-x-**

Sarah examined the detailing in the marble on the edge of the bathtub while running over her idea in head. She and Jareth had been sitting in silence on the floor of the bathroom for a while now and she started to notice that her behind was falling asleep. Shifting to try to make herself more comfortable she turned to face him again.

"So what happens now?"

He had the same pondering look on his face that she had on her own a moment ago but what was going through his head were no doubt his plans on how she was supposed to execute his little plot. Little did he know… she smirked to herself and dropped her head slightly to conceal her mischievous smile. It seemed to have gone unnoticed as he finally spoke, still staring straight forwards while seemingly examining a fixed spot on the wall opposite him.

"We go to dinner." As he let the words go he turned to face her again, his deep train of thought interrupted. "We've got an hour to get ready."

His resolve had returned and she could see hints of the Jareth she recognised quickly reassemble his regal composure in front her and she realized that she was seeing something that probably not many people got to see, the King unravelled. She didn't have time to dwell on it however as he moved to stand and extended a hand out to her which she gratefully took, letting him pull her to her feet. Standing facing each other she looked down at their hands still interlocked between them she noticed him doing the same and before she could try to conceal the effects of the spark running between their bodies he spoke again.

"Too bad our night had to end the way it did…"

She brushed off the effects of his words, added on top of the contact of their hands she was feeling quite ashamed of how quickly he managed to affect her. Besides, she shouldn't give him the satisfaction of letting him see the effects he had on her. He sounded way too sure of himself. Instinctively she pulled her hand from his but couldn't deny that she instantly missed the warmth of his touch. She needed to think of something to derail the moment.

"Well maybe it was for the best, you seem to have a thing for destroying women."

Her best attempt at sounding unaffected had come out sounding full of the hurt she hadn't even realized she was feeling and she instantly blushed. The smile he gave her as a response told her he knew exactly how jealous she was feeling. _Damn._

"I like your choice of words."

She gasped at the brashness of his suggestion. His eyes roved her body and the look on his face told her that he was indeed very pleased with himself in his newfound knowledge of his power over her. He would destroy her too and now she knew for sure that her period starting and preventing her from going through with sleeping with him had been a stroke of luck. He was bad news, and she knew it. She'd known it since she was fifteen. But now that she was older she no lingered withered under his words, she had matured, she had her share of bad relationships which had given her some idea of how to deal with infuriating men. She would not allow him to destroy her.

Instinctively she felt herself squaring her shoulders against his imposing presence and as her determination took hold of her she found her voice again, stronger than before.

"Listen, just because I've agreed to help you doesn't mean the battle is won. You could still end up marrying someone who'll be about as useful to you in bed as a cold fish."

He was clearly taken aback by her outburst, the self-assured look of seduction was quickly wiped clean off his face and he quickly shook his head to compose himself, his previous anxiety now again clearly visible on his features.

"You're right. Excuse me." He backed a few steps away from her, lifting his hands into the space between them. He still looked shocked. "Hand me the crystal I gave you earlier." He dropped one of his hands straight out in front of him and waited.

Fishing it out of her dress pocket she handed it over. Taking it he rolled it across his hand once and then opened his palm to reveal that it had transformed into a beautiful necklace.

"Turn around."

She did without hesitation and he placed the necklace around her neck and as he fastened the clasp he let one finger slide down her back, she lingered on the familiar feeling of attraction between them but felt herself holding her breath, determined not to let her weakness show before turning around to face him again.

"What exactly does it do?" She instinctively lifted a hand up to caress the beautiful piece of jewellery around her neck.

"It gives the illusion that you're one of us without you actually being affected by the spells that affect the other women. Thankfully they don't affect humans."

"Wait, what spells?" Keeping up with him was exhausting. All these spells and rules and magical creatures, he obviously had to remind himself that she wasn't from his world as he blinked at her a few times before realising that he was jumping ahead a bit too fast for her aboveground mind to follow.

"All the women here are under a spell that allows the judges, mainly my father, to monitor who follows the rules and who doesn't. This necklace will make you appear to have a perfectly clean slate at all times."

"So the rules don't affect me?" Her mood was lifted immensely, her plan at the forefront of her mind. This would do nicely.

"Quite the opposite, when you are in the presence of the others you must follow every rule to the letter or else they will find out that your results have been rigged and our little game will be up. This is however a loophole we can take advantage off in private… as long as we don't arouse suspicion." He smiled again and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes while wondering if all his thoughts were focused on sex before his face turned serious again. "Don't ever take it off your neck and don't let anyone else touch it."

"Fine… so what's the plan for the night?" She had to play along with is game for a while.

"Well right now you should go and get ready. As you may have noticed you have plenty of things to wear in your closet, wear something impressive. And you must acquaint yourself with the rules. At dinner it would be best if you just kept a low profile, we should keep our cards close to our chest for the time being."

"Fair enough… anything I should know about the dinner customs of an Underground Kingdom?" She realized she would probably stick out like a sore thumb and Jareth seemed to agree with her as he clasped his forehead again.

"Shit… we'll need to go over a few things when we have the time, not that I'm the best etiquette instructor there is…" there was that grin again "… but tonight just do what the other women are doing. Oh and if they ask you where you are from tell them you are from one of the kingdoms from beyond the Majel sea, there are too many kingdoms there to name and they are all very small and insignificant. No one will want to inquire further because then they would have to admit to their ignorance towards them."

"Got it." She headed for the door but was stopped by his hand on her elbow.

"One more thing… my father will present the first challenge tonight and I don't know what it will be. Please do your best to complete it satisfactorily if you are one of the required participants."

His face was a picture of worry as she was sure hers was as well, this obviously wasn't going to be as easy as him handing over the answers to a school exam before the fact, he was actually depending on her. She swallowed and nodded and he let out a sigh of relief.

When Jareth had made sure the hallway was clear she headed for her room, the feeling of trepidation growing inside her. She knew she was getting herself into something she couldn't even imagine.

**-x-x-x-**

As Sarah opened the magic closet in her room again she paid close attention to the dresses hanging within it. She hadn't given it much thought in the morning but as she looked them over she noticed how exquisite they all were, and Jareth had all but said that he'd picked them all especially for her. She felt the material of a blue satin dress and sighed knowing she was reading too much into things again… she needed to get dressed. She settled on a green evening gown and got to work.

A half an hour later she'd quickly fixed her hair and applied some makeup, she was happy with the results and in any case she only had a few minutes before she had to be downstairs for dinner. Quickly she opened the exquisite envelope with the word rules written on the front. She noticed two more envelopes on her dresser, she'd get to them later, the rules were about as much as she could handle at the moment. She couldn't help thinking that this looked a lot like information packed at an exclusive vacation resort. She let out a short laugh at the thought.

Another 20 minutes later she slammed the papers back down on the table. This was ridiculous! Her head was spinning with all the do's and don'ts of the matching. She'd never known anything so rigid. She'd barely even made it through the first page and she was completely lost and now she was also running late for the dinner.

She scrambled to her feet and left her room. The hallway was empty and she had the sneaking feeling everyone was already downstairs. Quickly she headed for the great hall.

She made it to the big doors of the great hall just as two butlers were about to close it she shouted out to them just in time.

"You're cutting it a bit close miss." One of them quipped at her.

"I know, I'm sorry, it won't happen again." She tried to think back to the rules on lateness.

"See that it doesn't." The other butler was sterner and motioned her inside before closing the door behind her.

Standing by the doors she surveyed the room. It was grand and luxurious and filled with women. As she scanned it she could hardly believe that she was here. A matching for Jareth, the man who had practically ruined her life all those years ago, in the sobering light of the situation her desperation from the day before rushed over her again, leaving her blushing with embarrassment. Her eyes locked with Jareth's from across the room and her look of embarrassment was quickly wiped from her face as she saw the thunderous one on his. She was obviously too close to screwing up for comfort. Next to him she saw his father with a similar look of displeasure on his face and she quickly scrambled into the crowd of women hoping that she indeed hadn't messed up her clean slate record by being spotted arriving in the nick of time.

Heading for a table she sat herself down on a chair and decided her safest course was just to lay low.

The room was filled with music from a band playing in the far corner and loud chatter of the other women. It reminded her of the sounds of birds, there were certainly enough women here to make up a whole flock. The sounds were distracting and she felt herself begin to tune out the mindless chatter, her eyes constantly drifting in Jareth's direction.

Soon, Jareth's father… she realized she still didn't know his name… stood up from the table and cleared his throat. The music and the chatter instantly died down.

"Welcome ladies. I hope you've found everything to your liking so far."

The women all started clapping and Sarah joined in.

"Now please be seated so we may begin our dinner service. Enjoy your meal."

The music and chatter resumed and one by one the women all found themselves a place to sit. The girls that gathered at Sarah's table all seemed to know each other.

"Foila, your dress is beautiful." The girl now sitting next to Sarah gushed to the woman on her right.

"Thank you Averine, it is Jareth's favourite color, forest green." The woman was a gorgeous blonde whose royal upbringing shone through every syllable she spoke.

"I see you had the same idea as me?" It took Sarah a few moments to realize Foila was directing the question at her.

"What?" She quickly pulled her elbow from the table and instinctively straightened her back.

"I see you've also chosen a dress in Jareth's favourite color." Foila's voice was a picture of polite scrutiny and Sarah immediately got the feeling she was treading on some toes.

"Oh, I didn't know…" She trailed off. Wondering if that made her sound stupid. She was supposed to be here to impress him after all.

"We'll its lovely regardless." Foila's smile turned as genuine as Sarah imagined possible in a situation such as this and then motioned for the other ladies at the table.

"I'm Foila and this is Averine, Menya, Juna, Edelpha, and Veris. I haven't seen you here before. What's your name?"

"I'm Sa…" Suddenly she wasn't sure if she should use her real name or not. Did everyone know she had defeated the Labyrinth? Quickly she coughed and took a sip of a glass of water in front of her to cover her hesitance and continued. "I'm Saraphine."

"Lovely to meet you Saraphine, and where are you from?" Sarah felt her heart start beating in her chest. She needed to keep calm. Jareth had told her what to say.

"One of the kingdoms beyond the Majel sea."

"Oh, how lovely." Foila's expression quickly changed. "And how did you qualify?"

Sarah released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, maybe they would be able to pll this off. Jareth had clearly been right, she obviously didn't want to enquire more about her home kingdom but she had no idea how the qualifications worked.

"Umm... It was a last minute thing."

"Ahh, you're a Grimmer. Well I hope you enjoy the experience, you'll have lots to tell your friends when you get back home."

Sarah couldn't help feeling like she'd just been insulted in some way. Foila had clearly just eliminated her as any threat to her. She'd have to remember to ask Jareth what a Grimmer was.

Foila had now turned back to chatting with Averine and the other girls and Sarah started picking at the food on the plate in front of her that had been brought out during their conversation. The food looked lovely but Sarah wasn't very hungry, with the night having just begun all the possibilities of what could go wrong started running through her head.

Sarah noticed Averine sending her a sideways look and she quickly corrected her posture again and destroyed the mash potato mountain she'd created in one corner of her plate. Maybe them thinking she was from a less refined kingdom was a good thing after all.

During the course of the meal Sarah contributed a few one word responses to the conversation with the other girls who, in the spirit of keeping things light, never ventured into deeper subjects than their wardrobes and the travels they undertook to be at the matching, much to Sarah's relief.

It had been a while since she'd cleared her dessert plate when she heard Jareth's father clearing his throat again at the high table. When everyone turned around to look, Jareth's father had stood up again to address the room.

"I hope the meal has been satisfactory ladies. You all know what happens next. It is time I present to you the first challenge."

Sarah instinctively swallowed nervously.

"As you know, I love riddles. Our beloved Labyrinth is full of them. So for tonight's challenge I present you with a riddle. Whoever can come up with the answer by noon tomorrow will win the first matching points." A wave of barely audible chatter rippled through the room. "The riddle is as follows." Clearly enjoying himself and the attention he got from the room he read out the riddle slowly and resolutely.

"We hurt without moving. We poison without touching. We bear the truth and the lies. We judge not by our size. What are we?"

The cogs turned in her head as she heard whispers around her and Sarah realized she already knew the answer, she'd read this riddle in one of her storybooks as a child. Looking around hastily she tried to gauge the other women's facial expressions but it seemed they were still at a loss… but for how long? She wondered if she should wait until tomorrow to reveal the answer. In a bold move, before she'd even completely decided on a course of action she stood up from her chair and faced the high table.

The room fell dead silent. As her chair had given out a creak as she stood up she had drawn the attention of the entire room. She took a deep shaking breath.

"Your highness, I believe I know the answer to your riddle." A wave of chatter went through the room, no doubt it was the women all trying to figure out who she was.

She braved a look at Jareth, his face was one of stunned surprise.

"Quiet everyone." Jareth's father gently scolded the group. "Please remind me of your name my dear."

Sarah now saw Jareth's face morph from stunned to horrified, clearly, people would know who she was at the sound of her name.

"I'm Saraphine." She didn't even flinch.

"Well Saraphine, if you already have the answer to my riddle I will be most impressed. Care to give me your answer?"

"Sir, I do believe the answer is words. Words do all those things."

The room was dead quiet again. Jareth's father beheld her intently while stroking his beard.

"My dear, you are absolutely correct. Well done. You've just earned the first 10 points of the matching. Everyone, please give Saraphine a round of applause." He joined in the applause briefly before he leant down and whispered something in Jareth's ear.

"Thank you sir." Slowly she sunk back into her chair to the sounds of thundering applause and she felt her shoulders sag as the tension left her body.

As the applause died down Jareth's father continued speaking.

"My first riddle was to remind you all of the power off words. If anyone here is found guilty of spreading rumours or poisoning others they will be instantly dismissed from the matching."

A brief but short burst of unsure applause moved through the room as the women seemed to contemplate the gravity of his words and Sarah absentmindedly pondered how many devious plans he had just derailed with that sentence, but then she was also certain that these women weren't so easily swayed. He continued.

"Well then. Since the first challenge is out of the way earlier than expected the second one shall commence first thing tomorrow morning. I suggest you all dress comfortably for breakfast and get a good night's sleep. I will excuse me and my son from this fine dinner at this point but you are all allowed to stay on down here for another hour. Just let me once again remind you of the rest of the rules. Good night ladies."

All the women raised their applause again and then started talking amongst each other, again filling the room with loud chatter.

Sarah's eyes were glued to Jareth and his father as they were escorted from the room by more butlers. Jareth didn't seem to look her way once. She sighed… it was to be expected she supposed.

Suddenly she felt exhausted. She looked over the table and saw the ladies sending her sideways glances in the midst of their hushed conversations and decided she couldn't get out of there fast enough.

"Well I'm going to bed, good night ladies." She stood up as fast as she could to not give any of them a chance to stall her.

"So soon?" Foila almost cried out. "We'd love to hear more about you…"

_I'm sure you do_ Sarah thought to herself but managed to cut her off before she finished her sentence.

"Yeah I'm exhausted, see you in the morning." And with that she turned and headed for the door. She saw a few other women doing the same.

Once in her room she quickly undid her dress and breathed a sigh of relief as she tossed it on the bed. The bed looked ever so tempting but she was in need for a long hot bath before she indulged in sleep after the trying day she'd just had.

She entered the large en suite bathroom and proceeded to fill the gigantic tub with water and added some salts and liquids that lined the rim of the tub, making it foam. As she slipped beneath the thick foam and into the warm water she felt her body relax completely.

"Sarah?" His voice hit her like gush of cold water.

"Jareth!" Panicked she looked around the bathroom, she'd left her robe and the towels on the other side by the vanity. Worst of all she hadn't even bothered to close the door to the bathroom. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk. I'm coming in."

"NO! Wait, I'm in the tub." But he was already in the bathroom before she managed to finish the sentence.

"That's exactly what I was hoping." He was smiling wider than the Cheshire cat as he now stood only a few feet from her naked body, the only thing shielding her nudity was the thick foam floating on the water.

"Jareth would you get out!" She felt herself shielding herself under the water even though the foam kept her safe.

"What exactly is the problem?" Feigning innocence his smile grew even bigger. "You're perfectly decent, if anything you're more covered up now than ever. All I can see is your head."

The merriment was evident in his voice as he casually lounged on the wide rim of the tub and rested against the wall. They were now facing each other. She kept quiet and let the frustrated look on her face do the talking, he seemed to happily ignore it though.

"My father was very pleased with you tonight… as was I." His voice lowered to a growl and now it was her turn to ignore his signals.

"I'm glad to hear it… but honestly Jareth, this matching is a circus." She lifted her hands above the waterline to emphasize her point but quickly pulled them under again when the bubbles started to move. "Shit!" She tried desperately to rearrange them much to Jareth's amusement.

His eyebrows had shot up to his hairline in delighted surprize and he was no laughing heartily at her. It felt like an age until he finally he regained his composure.

"Yes, I can see what you mean. Speaking of which have you familiarized yourself with the rules of this circus?"

"How could I possibly, the list is the size of a phonebook." Her frustration kept growing, had he come here to laugh at her and scold her for not doing her homework?

He laughed again before shrugging his shoulders.

"We'll go over them later then, right now I could really do with a relaxing bath." Now it was Sarah's turn to be shocked as he shrugged out of his dinner jacket and started working on the buttons of his shirt, he was going to join her in the tub.

"Oh no you don't! What do you think you're doing?"

He paused but only for a moment before continuing his work and removing his shirt from his body. Sarah couldn't help herself and let her eyes roam over his chest and she felt her stomach drop with anticipation even through her panic. She had to keep control here.

"We have things to talk about and the bathtub seems like the perfect place to do so." He was completely unfazed, to him this probably sounded like the most natural thing in the world but she was panicking and she tried to convince herself that her time of the month issue wasn't the only reason she didn't want him in there with her but she had to admit to herself that she knew better.

"Stop! Ok, yes I agree, we need to talk, but can we please do it in the bedroom." She wasn't sure if he'd figure it out or was just humouring her but he picked up his scattered clothes and she let out a sigh of relief as he headed for the door. But before he exited the bathroom he sent her a teasing smirk over his shoulder.

"You have four minutes. If you're not out here by then I'm coming to _get_ you."

His emphases on the word get sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine and she gave herself another mental slap. _Get it together Sarah. _She sure as hell wasn't going to take him up on that offer, no matter how easily her body reacted to his words.

He left the door open, the bastard. Climbing out of the bathtub Sarah covered herself the best she could with one hand while reaching for the door with the other, slamming it shut. As she moved over to the vanity she could hear Jareth's laughter echo through the bedroom.

She shook her head but aware that time was wasting she threw a towel around her head and slipped on the robe. Sorting herself out with the supplies that Spinny had provided for her she realized hadn't brought any underwear into the bathroom with her. Blushing, she tightened the belt of the robe around her waist as tightly as she could and made a mental note to not take large steps before she reached for the door handle to join Jareth in the bedroom.

She jumped back as she saw him standing, leaning against the doorframe right outside the door. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face lit up with one of his charmingly mischievous smiles that Sarah was having a hard time resisting.

"With twenty seconds to spare, and I who was getting excited about throwing you over my shoulder." His voice sent her stomach crashing through her body… again. Damn him. Even though he was crass and uncouth she still couldn't control her body's responses to his erotically laced threats. Her knees weakened as he locked eyes with hers and she wondered for a moment if she really minded if he flung her over his shoulder for real… probably not.

Her spell was broken as he pushed himself off the doorframe and walked back into her room towards the bed and sat down, leaning against the headboard, crossing his hands behind his head. With the close proximity of his body no longer a distraction her mind snapped out of its haze again she noticed him thoroughly enjoying the stupefied look she had on her face. _The pompous ass._

"Well get over here then, it's time for us to go over some things."

She scowled and grabbed the belt of her robe, tightening it instinctively even though there was no room for it to hold it closed any more than it already was. There was no way she was sitting on that bed without underwear on. Moving to the other side of the room she rifled through the underwear drawer and pulled out a beautiful pair, if she wasn't so uncomfortable with the thought that he was staring at her and probably enjoying it right now she would have thanked him for getting her so many beautiful things.

"Turn around." She faced him and tried to sound as stern as possible. But he sat completely still.

"Now, why would I do that?" Oh how she wanted to kiss… no I mean smack that smug look off his face.

"I'm not going anywhere near that bed without my underwear on Jareth." She knew that she was sounding more panicked than she would have liked and Jareth's smile widening wasn't settling her anxiety about the situation one bit. But as he moved to stand up she felt relief flood through her momentarily.

"You have three seconds." And before she even managed to register the words he had turned around and started to count.

"One…" She swiftly shut her gaping mouth and pulled the hem of her robe up.

"Two…" Bending down she hurriedly stepped into each leg of the panties, despairing when one of her heels stepped on the fabric, stopping her from pulling them up her legs.

"Three…" Snapping her back up straight she dropped the robe and smoothed it down in a frenzy as he turned around to face her before lowering himself back down on the bed, retaking is arrogant position with an equally pleased smirk on his face. She was breathing erratically and now she felt her frustration with this arrogant asshole turn to anger, all these silly games where doing her head in.

"It's not fucking funny! Stop ordering me about like I'm one of your lovesick slaves, You're relying on me to _want _to help you, remember?" His face fell slightly but he didn't move.

"You're right… again, excuse me. But how do you expect me to control myself around you when I've wanted you for so many years?" He was smiling again and this time she knew he was enjoying the look of surprise on her face. She didn't have an answer to that, and as if he could read her thoughts he diffused the situation. "I believe you now have underwear on, now get over here so we can make some progress."

She hesitated for a moment but made her way towards the bed. It was huge and tall so climbing into it wasn't a graceful feat and she felt Jareth's eyes on her every move. Folding her knees underneath her body she sat on her ankles by the foot off the bed, finally able to look him in the eye again.

"Come closer." His voice was completely deadpan.

"Why?" She knew she sounded scared… and she was, but not afraid. She knew she had to be careful, even being this close to him was dangerous to her rational thinking.

"This is a huge bed, we have to discuss things quietly, please come closer."

She wasn't sure if she was buying into his explanation or just hypnotised by the velvety tone of his voice but she felt herself nudge forwards before stopping next to him, still facing him. She knew better than to lie down next to him. He beamed at her and adjusted himself so he was now angled more towards her.

"That's better. Now…"

"How many of them have you actually slept with?" She had blurted it out before she managed to stop herself and the look on Jareth's face was one of complete surprise. She felt herself blush profusely as his mouth morphed into a huge self-satisfied grin.

"Well Sarah, I' beginning to think that you actually _are_ jealous… can it be?"

"Of course not…" She huffed, knowing full well she was ignoring the obvious. "… I just need to know how many of them I can expect to fight unfairly." She put on the best indignant look she could muster… it probably wasn't working.

"Too many to count I'm afraid…" There was that grin again. "… you're going to have to be on your toes. The last matching was dangerously close to ending in a bloodbath."

She shrugged her shoulders, trying to convince herself that the fact he didn't even know the number off hand didn't bother her.

"Fine, tell me what the next part of the plan is then."

"Hang on, we've yet to go over the rules and get you up to speed with some history…" He sighed. "… This could take a while." He leant back against the headboard and sighed in exasperation. As he did Sarah caught herself stealing a look at his still bare chest, his muscles rippled under his skin and she instantly batted away some unwelcome images of herself running her tongue up the centre of it.

"Did you hear what I just said?"

"What?" She blinked a few times before locking her eyes on his.

"Did you hear what I just said about the history of the matching's and the Underground kings?" He cocked an eyebrow at her.

_Shit._ She had completely zoned out.

"Umm… no." He beheld her before him for a moment.

"Is everything ok Sarah?" She nodded quickly, she was fine… it was just, he looked so damn hot laying on her bed like that and the thought of him with all those other women…

"You're not thinking about the other women are you? Cause I can assure you Sarah tha… mmppphhh!"

She was on him before he could even finish his sentence, kissing him with all the pent up need and frustration she'd been feeling since she got here. It only took him a moment to catch on as she was now straddling his waist his hands made quick work of the belt on her robe, opening it and revealing her naked breast to him. He cupped them gently before sliding his hands down her sides on the inside of her robe and ending on her behind where he grabbed her and pulled her forwards, deeper into the kiss and joining their chests together. The contact sent shocks of electricity through her body and she could feel him hardening beneath her. This was exactly what she needed to regain her confidence, the knowledge of the effect she had on him which was all too clear at the moment as he flipped her on to her back and drove his hips against her core making her moan in pure ecstasy.

Her hands flew into his hair and she pulled on it gently, coaxing him to deepen the kiss. As he did he sent another thrust against her centre which momentarily rendered her breathless underneath him. He broke their kiss and she sucked in a lungful of air as he panted above her, locking their eyes together. She felt one of his hands travel down her side and fist around her underwear, pulling on it gently.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this." His voice was hoarse and breathless, a blatant betrayal of his need for her.

Her chest rose and fell with her quickening breath as he started to slowly pull her underwear down her leg, even though she knew they wouldn't be having sex tonight because of her condition… at least if she had anything to say about it… she couldn't bring herself to stop him. His hold on her body was just too strong.

Suddenly he stopped, her underwear only halfway down her thigh.

"Shit!" He locked terrified eyes on hers for a moment before jumping off of the bed in a flash and grabbing his shirt from the floor, throwing it on as he ran around the room. "My father is looking for me!"

"What!" She scrambled to pull her underwear up and wrapped her robe around herself again.

"I have to go… sorry… thank you… see you tomorrow." He leant forwards and landed a hard kiss on her forehead before turning around and disappearing in a cloud of glitter before her eyes.

"But… wait… what?"

She was sitting up on her knees on her bed, completely alone in her room. Gritting her teeth and exhaling in exasperation at being left hanging she flopped back down on the mattress and covered her face with her hands, realizing that this was exactly what she had done to him the last time.

"You've got to be kidding me." She muttered into the empty room, realizing she'd just let her control slip away from her once again.

**-x-x-x-**

**A/N: **A huge thank you goes out to each and every one of my readers for your patience and reviews!


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